Uganda’s development partners have convened in Munyonyo for a high-level Joint Steering Committee meeting that served as both a stocktake of progress and a warning about the road ahead, as the country prepares for graduation from Least Developed Country status amid shrinking global aid.
Opening the meeting, UN Resident Coordinator Leonard Zulu said the next phase of Uganda’s development will depend less on the volume of aid and more on how effectively systems, financing, and partnerships are aligned.
With less than five years to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, Zulu warned that ambition alone will not be enough.
“Systems, financing and partnerships must be coherent enough to translate ambition into delivery under constraint,” he said.
The Joint Steering Committee, which provides strategic direction for UN operations in Uganda, brings together senior government officials, diplomats, and development partners to review progress, guide priorities, and mobilise resources under the UN Cooperation Framework.
The April 15 meeting marked a critical transition point as Uganda closes the 2021–2025 Cooperation Framework and shifts fully into the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) alongside a new Cooperation Framework for 2026–2030.
Uganda hosts one of the largest and most diverse UN Country Teams in sub-Saharan Africa, with 29 entities operating under a single framework. Zulu cautioned, however, that scale alone does not guarantee impact.
“This scale is not an end in itself; it is valuable only when it delivers coherence,” he said.
He noted that in 2025, the Cooperation Framework enabled the UN system to function as an integrated partner to government, linking humanitarian response with development investments and aligning national priorities with global commitments.
But with global aid flows tightening, the UN’s role is evolving.
“In an era of shrinking aid envelopes, partnerships matter more than ever,” Zulu said, addressing Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and other senior officials.
“The UN’s comparative advantage lies not in the volume of financing, but in its ability to convene, align, and de-risk investments, particularly for inclusive growth, climate resilience, and social protection.”
He pointed to ongoing policy dialogue and financing-for-development initiatives coordinated through the Local Development Partners Group, while calling for an expansion of partnerships, including through South-South cooperation platforms.
Zulu described 2025 as a “year of convergence” in which Uganda simultaneously closed NDP III, launched NDP IV, and met the criteria for LDC graduation, all while managing regional displacement, climate shocks, public health pressures, and a tightening global financing environment.
Although macroeconomic stability has been maintained, he warned that fiscal and policy space remains constrained. Challenges such as youth unemployment, climate vulnerability, refugee inflows, and global supply chain disruptions continue to interact with domestic reform efforts.
In that context, he said, the UN must support evidence-based prioritisation and anticipatory planning to ensure that shocks do not reverse development gains, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Graduation from LDC status, he added, presents both opportunity and risk.
“Graduation brings opportunity but also reduced access to concessional support,” Zulu said, framing the central question as whether Uganda’s systems, financing frameworks, and partnerships are strong enough to sustain progress under tighter conditions.
Progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals remains uneven. While some targets are on track, others—particularly those related to poverty, education, inequality, employment, and institutional strength—face significant challenges.
Zulu called for accelerated action toward Agenda 2030, warning that gains could stall without sharper prioritisation and better alignment of resources.
Data from the Cooperation Framework cycle shows that nearly 90 percent of required funding was mobilised. However, utilisation and alignment gaps persist, especially under Strategic Priority II on shared prosperity and economic transformation.
Short-term and humanitarian funding have dominated, while multi-year development financing remains limited.
Zulu said this reflects deeper systemic and incentive challenges that must be addressed in the next Cooperation Framework if Uganda is to sustain growth and resilience beyond aid dependency.
